1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to materials and methods used in building construction to make arched-shaped openings, specifically to a method and system for use in forming arched openings in both concrete block and wood frame building construction. The materials from which it was made would determine its load bearing capacity. Applications may include, but are not limited to, use in more rapidly and easily forming a window opening with an arched upper perimeter in both residential and commercial construction.
2. Description of Prior Art
In recent construction of both residential and commercial buildings, one can see the increasing popularity of building designs having windows and doors with an arched upper perimeter. They add an aesthetically pleasing and architecturally sophisticated look to a building. However, to make the openings for installation of such windows and doors. plywood and 2xc3x974""s are commonly used to form the concavely configured upper perimeter and such structures are commonly built on site. The disadvantage of this prior art method is that it is time consuming. A framer would have to refer to the radius of curvature of the window or door intended for installation and accordingly measure and cut several structural 2xc3x974 pieces of wood having incremental differences in length. Once a standard rectangular window or door frame was constructed around a wall opening of sufficient height to accommodate installation of the intended arched window or door. the shortest 2xc3x974 pieces of wood would then be attached centrally to the upper perimeter of the standard frame so as to downwardly and perpendicularly depend therefrom. Thereafter, in succession the incrementally longer 2xc3x974 pieces of wood would be placed at spaced-apart distances from the shortest 2xc3x974 piece or pieces of wood and also attached to the standard frame so as to also downwardly and perpendicularly depend therefrom. Referring again to the radius of curvature of the window or door intended for installation, the framer would then measure and cut two pieces of plywood each with one concavely arcuate perimeter edge having a radius of curvature identical to that of the window or door intended for installation within the wall opening. The cut plywood pieces would then each he oriented with its arcuate perimeter edge facing the center of the wall opening and secured within the inside perimeter of the standard frame to each of the 2xc3x974 pieces attached to the upper perimeter of the standard frame. When the above cutting, measuring and attaching steps are repeated for the installation of even a few arched windows and doors used in a building design, the total time required to perform the extra framing steps for the arched windows and doors becomes significant.
The method of the present invention contemplates the use of monolithic pre-cast arched concrete headers in block construction. as well as the use of pre-formed arches in wood frame construction that could be made from recycled plastic attached to or including a lintel. Installation time for each pre-formed arch is estimated to be as little as five minutes. Use of the method disclosed in the present invention would eliminate the need for post and beam type headers with a site-built wooden arch and thereby reduce the amount of labor required on a job site to install windows and doors having an arched upper perimeter. Where load bearing capacity is required, the method of the present invention accounts for such needs. In addition to having a labor saving advantage, the method of the present invention also reduces construction site cost by eliminating the material waste associated with materials that are incorrectly measured and cut on a job site. Although it is known to have interconnecting structural panels each having a top load-carrying header plate to erect a load bearing wall, devices used to support a masonry arch during construction, and prefabricated concrete slabs which can be vertically positioned within an elongated ground trench and connected to form a building structure, as well as apparatus for molding prefabricated concrete sections on site for use in the construction of vaulted structures such as culverts and tunnels, it is not known to have a method and system for using monolithic pre-formed structures for the installation of arched windows and doors that has all of the advantages of the present invention.
It is the primary object of this invention to provide a time saving method for installing arched windows and doors in residential and commercial construction. It is a further object of this invention to provide a cost reducing method for installing arched windows and doors in residential and commercial construction. It is also an object of this invention to provide a monolithic pre-formed header and arch opening in standard sizes that can be easily transported to a construction site and easily handled during installation into standard sizes of rectangularly framed window and door openings. A further object of this invention is to provide monolithic pre-formed header and arch openings for custom work involving non-standard sizes of windows and doors. It is also an object of this invention to provide a monolithic pre-formed header and arch opening that is made from plant pre-cast and reinforced concrete so as to be load bearing. It is a further object of this invention to provide monolithic pre-formed header and arch openings that are not load bearing. A further object of this invention is to provide pre-formed arched structures for wood frame construction that are not load bearing and made at least in part from recycled plastic.
As described herein, properly manufactured and used to install arched windows and doors within framed rectangular openings in block and wood frame structures, the method and system of the present invention would provide a means for more rapid and cost efficient on-site installation of the arched windows and doors than is currently possible with the commonly used method of site-built arches made from plywood and 2xc3x974""s. The present invention can be configured for installing standardize size arched windows and doors, as well as the nonstandard sizes needed for custom work. In block construction the present invention contemplates the use of a plant pre-cast and reinforced concrete monolithic header and arched opening combination for each arched window or doorway incorporated into a building design, which after manufacture is transported to a job site, set upon the exposed upper surfaces of blocks positioned on opposite sides of the wall opening to create the intended arched window or doorway configuration. and thereafter attached directly to the block adjacent to the upper portion of the window or doorway opening with mortar and/or mortar in combination with other attachment means. When attached in its usable position, the top of the monolithic header and arched opening combination is approximately level with the top of the wall opening. In setting each pre-cast monolithic header and arched opening combination upon the upper surface of blocks on both sides of a wall opening, a near seamless and uniformly concave upper perimeter is formed within the wall opening. Since the concrete header and arched opening combination is monolithic. it is load bearing and provides strong support for the wall structure above the window or doorway opening. and it can be readily and easily connected to adjacent block with mortar. In addition it is contemplated for the pre-cast concrete header and arched opening combinations to have a central upper groove extending longitudinally the entire length of its upper surface. at least one reinforced steel rod or bar positioned below the upper groove and extending longitudinally the entire length of the concrete header and arched opening combination, and at least one second groove positioned within the upper surface of the concrete header and arched opening combination which intersects with the longitudinal upper groove and is oriented approximately perpendicular thereto. Although not limited thereto, the most preferred embodiment would have two rods and one second groove. It is contemplated that mortar be placed within the longitudinal upper groove and each of the second grooves in the upper surface of the concrete header and arched opening combination to help provide an enhanced base structure for more secure support of the block to be placed directly above the combination. The portions of the reinforcing rods or bars extending beyond the ends of the header further help to stabilize the concrete header and arched opening combination in its usable position against block on the upper side walls of the window or doorway opening, as the rod extensions are inserted into receiving holes formed in the adjacent wall block and become secured therein with mortar.
In contrast, for wood frame construction the pre-formed header and arched opening combination can be made load-bearing or non-load-bearing. For non-load-bearing wood frame construction use, it is contemplated for one embodiment of the arch filler comprising the pre-formed header and arched opening combination to be made in the same configuration as the concrete embodiment with opposed downwardly depending appendages each set upon a piece of support framing during use. The top of such an embodiment can be set within the wall opening so that the top of the arch filler is approximately level with the top of the wall opening for attachment to an independent superimposed lintel. In the alternative, the top of such an embodiment can be set within the wall opening so that the top of the arch filler is substantially horizontal and slightly below the top of the wall opening for attachment to a piece of framing material, over which a load-bearing lintel would be secured. It is contemplated for all of the above-mentioned non-load-bearing wood frame construction embodiments to be made from lightweight, cost efficient materials, such as recycled plastic. Also, in non-load-bearing situations. molded embodiments of the present invention could be made to comprise a lintel and be thereby configured as a lightweight, one-piece arch filler and lintel unit. However, in wood frame construction where load-bearing capacity is required, a lintel and attached arch filler would be made at least in part from stronger materials. For wood frame installation of the header and arched opening combination contemplated by the present invention, a rectangular opening for a window or doorway would be created during routine construction of a building wall. Additional wood framing material could be added to the bottom portion of the window or doorway opening, if needed, to provide support for the lateral downwardly depending appendages of the arched opening part of the combination. The appendage support framing would have a length dimension that allowed any upwardly depending lintel to overlay and be supported by framing on both sides of the window or doorway opening. For example, if the curvature of the arched opening dictated appendages extending approximately one-third the vertical distance of the wall opening, support framing material for the appendages could be added to approximately the inside bottom two-thirds of the window or doorway opening to allow the top of the arch filler to be positioned approximately level with the top of the framing on both sides of the window or doorway opening. In the alternative, it is considered within the scope of the present invention for the downwardly depending appendages to be manufactured off-site so as to extend to the bottom of the intended window or doorway opening. While such an alternative would slightly reduce on-site construction time and might be favored in some custom construction work, reduced convenience in handling, transport, and storage would cause such an alternative to be disfavored for the installation of standard sizes of arched windows and doors. After transport to a construction site, wood frame construction embodiments of the present invention would then be placed into their usable positions and secured into place with fasteners, bonding agents, or differing combinations of both. It is also contemplated that the pre-formed header and arched opening embodiments for wood frame construction could have a central upper groove extending longitudinally the entire length of its upper surface. Reinforced steel rod positioned below the upper groove and extending longitudinally the entire length of the header and arched opening combination, would not generally be required for wood frame construction. It is contemplated that the longitudinal upper groove will help to more securely attach the combination to the upper wall structures adjacent to the opening and help to provide an enhanced base structure for more secure support of any wall placed directly above the header and arched opening combination.
The description herein provides preferred embodiments of the present invention but should not be construed as limiting its scope. For example, variations in the number of reinforced steel bars used, the positioning of the steel bars relative to the longitudinal upper groove, the dimension of the longitudinal upper groove, the use of a second groove, the use of additional grooves similar to the second groove which intersect the longitudinal upper groove and are approximately perpendicular to it, and the radius of curvature of the concave arcuate perimeter edge of the arched opening, other than those shown and described herein, may be incorporated into the present invention. Thus the scope of the present invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than the examples given.